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Scott Benton: Hey everyone. Scott Benton here. How are you? I am the host of the Classroom 2 Courtroom podcast where we help you easily transition from a law school student into your professional career as an attorney and where we make the practice of law fun. And today we’re going to take a look at the art of non billable work management.
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Scott Benton: Today, in order to assist your overall use of the success cycle, which is what we talk about on this podcast, as far as the log your time portion goes, we’re going to look at the art of non billable work management. Generally speaking, when we talk about writing billing entries after you’ve completed a legal service on a case, We’re talking about billable hours. But when it comes to providing legal services, not all time is billable. Some events and tasks are non billable and they should be recorded with billing entries that are marked as non billable.
So you want to make sure that you understand the differences between billing entries that are billable , and billing entries that are non billable. So that’s a thing., Here on this episode, we want to talk about the precision in your timekeeping with regards to the categorization and [00:02:00] management of non billable work. Your billing entries, if they’re not done correctly, can affect the communications that you have with your client. So in order to avoid any confusion between billable and non billable time entries while maintaining the transparency and trust that you’ve built with your clients, we want to know what those differences are.
While billable hours include activities such as talking on the phone to your client about their case or writing a demand letter or filing a motion, there are other activities that you must also take care of that are non billable. Non billable work includes activities such as conducting internal team meetings about the case and about developing case strategy.
There may also be some other business development activities that would be non billable, as well as administrative tasks and pro bono work, for instance. Keep in mind that non billable tasks are essential to the firm’s operations. But if those entries are inaccurately categorized as billable [00:03:00] time, it can really cause confusion for the client and even create ethical issues.
Billing clients for non billable work incorrectly and listing those as billable can also lead to client dissatisfaction, billing disputes, or even a loss of trust.
And a loss of trust is exactly what you don’t want to lose. It can erode the foundation of trust, it can ruin relationships, and in many cases, you’ve spent a lot of time building which needs to be protected. You want to make certain that you understand all of the intricacies and nuances that are part of writing billing entries. As you’re going to be under a lot of pressure, you can probably see how marking non billable time entries as billable can happen, so you want to exercise extreme caution here.
You need to be clear about what tasks are billable and what tasks are internal or administrative and non billable. When you begin your new job as an attorney, you want to make sure that you’re crystal clear on what those distinctions are. So you [00:04:00] want to sit down with your supervising attorney and discuss which activities are billable and which activities are non billable.
And don’t leave this to chance. Sit down with your supervising attorney. Without that clarity, many attorneys make the mistake of categorizing time entries as billable when it should be non billable. And vice versa sometimes they work on a task that they assume is non billable. They mark it as non billable, but it turns out to be billable, so you want to be careful there.
Also, make sure non billable tasks are properly marked in the timekeeping system that the firm’s using in order to prevent confusion during billing time. Fortunately, you’re going to have your supervising attorney going through all of your billing entries before they’re added to your client’s billing statement, which is good. But ultimately, you want to be clear on what is and what is not billable, and you want to mark those time entries appropriately.
When you write billing entries, be detailed and clear, even for non billable work, When you write Providing [00:05:00] accurate and clear descriptions in your time entries helps with internal tracking. Keep non-billable tasks clearly distinguished and separated from billable tasks within your time management system to really ensure clean and clear record keeping.
Also, make sure that you don’t forget to balance your time. You really want to allocate sufficient time for non billable work when you have it, but you also want to avoid letting it take away from your billable hours. When it comes to non billable tasks such as group meetings about a case, these should still be logged in order to track productivity and to contribute to the firm’s operations. It also demonstrates to the client on their billing statement that work’s getting done on their case, and that they’re not paying for it.
This means that they’re getting more value for the money that they’re spending on the legal services that they are paying for, and when it comes to clients, if you’re looking at their case through their point of view, what they care about most is value. So remember to bill correctly for the work [00:06:00] that’s done on your cases. Billing non billable tasks as billable can frustrate clients and ultimately could potentially lead all the way up to billing disputes and billing dispute hearings. Clients expect transparency and they deserve it. And if non billable work is billed as billable, even by mistake, which it almost always is and why you want to pay attention to your billing entries, then it could damage you and your firm’s reputation.
So make sure your supervising attorney is routinely reviewing your time entries with you to ensure accuracy. And don’t forget to ask questions about your billing entries and how you can improve them.
More than likely your firm’s going to be using sophisticated This is a sophisticated time management software for you to log your billing entries on that can tell the difference between billable and non billable tasks and will flag discrepancies early on so you can make any corrections that you’re able to make.
And of course, always be transparent about what is billable and not billable whenever you’re talking to your clients to avoid [00:07:00] any confusion or mistrust. Clear communication helps clients see that you’re charging them accurately for essential legal services. You want to set clear expectations with them about your firm’s billing practices and explain how non billable tasks are handled right from the outset.
So as you can see, using precision and managing your non billable work and timekeeping is crucial for a smooth billing process, maintaining and growing client trust, and adhering to ethical standards. Getting your non billable time entries correctly marked strengthens the relationship between the attorney, the firm, and the client.
I’m Scott Benton. I’m the host of the Classroom 2 Courtroom podcast. Thanks so much for stopping by and checking out our episode. Now if you like this podcast and you’d like to get more information about us, you can always go to our website at classroom2courtroom. com. That’s classroom, the number two, courtroom.
com, or you can send us a message to keep in touch with us. You can even inquire about our seasonal associate programs we have available for law school students. You can apply to [00:08:00] come and work with us.
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